Flemington Legion baseball update

Head Coach Steve Farsiou has seen his share of quality Senior Division teams in his six seasons at the helm of Flemington Post 159’s American Legion-Pyramid League entry.

But Farsiou is literally fighting to contain his enthusiasm over this year’s edition. He won’t say as much but you don’t have to dig to deep to see this may be one of his best squads yet.

“I’m really excited by the group of players we have on our roster this season,” said Farsiou last weekend. “We have a good young team that can field really well. We’re fast and we’re deep in our pitching staff. If we can get enough out of our hitting this season, this is a team which is built to challenge for a state title.”

The early returns on the hitting are positive, to say the least. In a season-opening doubleheader against Hackettstown on Saturday, the Indians scored 29 runs on 25 hits as they swept to a pair of victories, 8-2 and 21-3.

In the 8-2 win, Flemington was led by Hunterdon Central High junior Brett McManus, who went 2 for 4 with three runs batted in.

His HCHS teammate, Mike Perone, went 3 for 3 with an RBI and Pat Clare, Central’s ace pitcher this spring, turned in four strong innings on the mound, striking out four batters while holding Hackettstown scoreless. Ryan Horzepa went two innings, allowing two runs and fanning three, and R.J. Hennessy finished up with two strikeouts in one inning.

In the 21-3 rout, Flemington’s bats were active. Mike Pfenninger went 3 for 3 with three RBI while Matt Hornich also went 3 for 3 with a triple and two RBI. Henry Hawkins had two hits, including a grand-slam home run, and six RBI and Pingry School’s Kyle Walker had a three-run homer as part of his four-RBI performance. Bill Roethke and Alex Horzepa combined to pitch five innings in the victory.

To say this team has a chance to rival the success achieved by recent teams is saying a lot. Consider that during Farsiou’s six seasons, Flemington has gone 175-32 including a state title in 2009. In 2012, the Indians posted a 39-7 record and finished as one of the top 16 teams in the country.

But there’s no denying the talent on this roster. Flemington, which hosts Hillsborough 6 p.m. tonight at Hunterdon Central High, pulls players from Group 4 power HCHS as its base school. However, the roster also features players from Hillsborough, Immaculata and Pingry as well as one college player.

Clare, a Central junior, anchors the pitching staff. He’s be joined by fellow righthanders Alex Bronfield, Roethke and Hennessy and Immaculata seniors Alex Maryanski and Austin Sour. Hornich, a Hillsborough senior who’s headed for the University of Delaware, and Hunterdon Central siblings Ryan and Alex Horzepa form a trio of talented lefties who round out a deep and versatile pitching staff.

“Pat Clare figures to be our top starter,” said Farsiou. “Bronfield is a submarine-type pitcher who’ll be used in long relief and as an occasional starter. I’m really excited about R.J. Hennessy. He’s going to have a big summer.

“Matt Hornich was part of a very good staff at Hillsborough. Ryan Horzepa is heading to Rowan in the fall. We’ll lean on him to get us out of jams. Maryanski is a hard thrower we’ll use in relief. Roethke is another hard thrower with a really good curve. Austin Sour is a big kid who can throw hard as well. I don’t have any concerns about our pitching. We’re deep and have a lot of guys who can do different things from both sides. Pitching is a strength.”

“In my system, I will use both catchers,” said Farsiou. “I feel we have two terrific catchers and we play 50 games during the summer, so I plan to use them both.”

When Hornich isn’t pitching he’ll likely play first base and he’s penciled in to bat fourth in the order. Alex Horzepa will also see time at first.

Second base is in the capable hands of Pfenninger, whose ability to play a lot of positions allows Farsiou to move McManus to shortstop.

“McManus is one of the top players in the state already,” said Farsiou. “He has all the tools. Pfenninger is a jack-of-all-trades who bats lefty and will hit second in the order for us.”

Perone, a Central junior, is the third baseman, as he was during the high school season.

“He can flat-out play,” said Farsiou. “He’s lightning-fast and can field with the best of them. He’ll play some short for us, too, in relief of McManus.”

The outfield features former Hunterdon Central standout John Icaza in center. As a freshman this spring at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa. he earned Centennial Conference “Rookie of the Year” honors. He’ll likely bat leadoff for Flemington this summer.

“Icaza played for us last year and was our best player,” said Farsiou. “I really feel he’s a Division I talent playing for a Division 3 school right now. He is that good.”

Hunterdon Central junior Nick Luciano plays left field and might also see some time at second base.

“I think Nick got overlooked a little bit at Hunterdon Central last year,” said Farsiou. “They always have a deep and talented team and I think he got lost in that a bit. He played for us as a sophomore. He’s got a big bat. I think he’ll surprise this summer.”

Hunterdon Central junior Hawkins starts in right.

Walker, a Pingry senior, rounds out the roster. The Rutgers-bound Walker is anything but an afterthought. The hard-hitting lefty is a welcome addition to the lineup that Farsiou is anxious to see in action.

“We’ll probably use him at third base and as a designated hitter,” he said. “He’s such a good hitter that you’ve just got to have his bat in the lineup.”

Farsiou has his eyes on a state title but also knows the competition within his own league will be fierce.

“North Warren is always very good,” he said. “I expect Delaware Valley to be very good, too. Hillsborough always has a lot of pitching and Montgomery and Somerville also have good teams.

“You need to win the league or come in second to move on so we’ll have to see how it all goes. I’ll say this much. Due to the revised high school baseball schedules and the fact that some of the area teams ended their seasons a little earlier than they have in the past, we were able to begin practice sooner than we ever have before. I feel we’re as well-prepared going into a season as we’ve ever been for that reason alone.”

While some have come to view American Legion ball as a lesser product when compared to the ever more popular travel teams that have snatched away talent during the past decade, Farsiou is adamant that the quality of play is not inferior.

“That kind of talk is almost always propaganda being put forth by guys associated with travel teams,” he said. “I dare anyone to come and watch one of our games say that we’re inferior to travel teams.”